BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1851 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 1851 (Allen) As Amended August 6, 2012 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |73-0 |(May 10, 2012) |SENATE: |36-0 |(August 9, | | | | | | |2012) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: E. & R. SUMMARY : Requires elections officials to allow for public access to the county, municipal, or district initiative measure materials filed with the elections officials, as specified. Specifically, this bill : 1)Requires an elections official, from the time a county, municipal, or district initiative petition is filed, until the day after the elections official determines that the initiative petition does not contain the minimum number of signatures required, the day after the election at which the initiative measure is put before voters, or the day after the proposed ordinance is adopted by the governing board after being submitted to the board in accordance with existing law, to do the following: a) Keep on file at his or her office the notice of intention, the written text of the initiative, the request for a ballot title and summary of the measure, the written statement setting forth the reasons for the proposed petition, and the affidavit of publication or posting that the proponents filed with the elections official, as applicable; and, b) Furnish copies of the materials described above to any person upon request. 2)Permits the elections official to charge a fee to a person obtaining copies of materials pursuant to this bill. Prohibits the fee from exceeding the actual cost incurred by the elections official in providing the copies. The Senate amendments make clarifying and technical changes. AB 1851 Page 2 AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar to the version approved by the Senate. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs. State-mandated local program; contains a self-financing disclaimer. COMMENTS : According to the author, "Current law for qualifying an initiative for the ballot requires the proponent of a measure to file an intent to file notification with the local jurisdiction along with a $200 refundable fee and the text of the measure. A title and summary is prepared and furnished to the proponents of the measure and, after providing proper notice, allows the circulation of the petition for signature gathering. The proponent then has 180 days to obtain the requisite number of signatures; otherwise the measure fails to qualify for the ballot. "Once the local elections jurisdiction furnishes the title and summary to the proponents of a measure they are not required to retain the materials on file as a matter of public record. In a democracy, where decision making is predicated on an informed electorate, it is unconscionable to not provide voters with access to as much information as possible. AB 1851 would require county elections officials to make available the title and summary, text of the language, and intent to file documentation for the duration of the 180 day circulation phase. The individual requesting the materials may be charged a fee not to exceed the cost of the production of these materials." The Senate amendments clarify the specific documents that must be made publicly available pursuant to this bill. This bill, as amended in the Senate, is consistent with the Assembly actions. Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of this bill. Analysis Prepared by : Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094 FN: 0004572 AB 1851 Page 3